EDITORIAL: Retro Randy’s Xenozoic Tales Playset

I am a huge fan of Xenozoic Tales by Mark Schultz. I’m a sucker for any comic book that has dinosaurs in it, and well-drawn dinosaurs at that! The series has a modernized pulp-art feeling to it that just makes me all warm and nostalgic inside. It’s got classic cars, too. And guns. And Hannah Dundee.

In a moment of free time a last week, I was surfing “Xenozoic Tales” on eBay and came across an unusual item…A “Xenozoic Tales Play Set.” Hmmm…what could this be? 

When in doubt, Google. In searching, I found an inconspicuous little blog that hadn’t been updated since 2016. The blog featured a rather zany header and was called “Retro Randy.” What I learned from this post prompted me to make an offer to the seller – and I acquired this eccentric item for a mere $12.Graphic designer Randy Dahlk writes the following:

From the Retro Randy blog, a post from January 23, 2009 (bold-faced type added for emphasis):

FROM THE BOX: Quo Hoon Brand.
Endorsed by Jack Tenrec and Hannah Dundee.
As seen in the hit funnybook Xenozoic Tales.

This could be the best play set ever.
 
 

“Each year for the San Diego Comic-Con, with Mark’s blessing, I’ve tried to create special limited edition products related to Xenozoic Tales. Each item is created in extremely small quantities, and is signed and numbered by Mark. Two years ago we presented this Xenozoic Tales Playset. 

Marx Toy Company created fabulous play sets from the 1950’s through the 1960’s. They usually contained hundreds of figures, along with buildings, vehicles, terrain, and creatures. They were quite likely to be the highlight of any Christmas during that period of time. 

Even though Xenozoic Tales didn’t exist then, it seemed like if it did, it would have been a good prospect to become a play set. So instead of a Marx play set, we created a Mark’s play set. This was a tribute to that era, and an attempt to recapture the excitement of Christmas morning. This was fun to try to approximate the feel and style of the packaging of those Marx play sets. This was designed in an edition of ten, it came with 4 people, 4 dinosaurs, a palm tree, and a rocky wall. I know that I can speak for myself when I say that this has given me hours and hours of quality play time.”

I had stumbled across an item created by a friend of Mark Schultz, sold at San Diego Comic-Con in 2007, and produced in a limited edition quantity of TEN. Whether it’s in demand or not to me is irrelevant – it’s still a really neat and very rare piece of Xenozoic Tales history.

In breaking down the play set, it really doesn’t have much that’s exciting inside the box – as Retro Randy himself writes, it has those (really bad) dinosaurs that you’d find in a plastic bag at the dollar store, along with a plastic wall, four soldiers, and a palm tree. But it’s not the contents that are important – it’s the retro-design to the box which makes this a bookshelf keepsake.

Judging from the photographs in the eBay auction, I’m not sure if this is one of the original ten that were produced. The signature does not appear to me to belong to Schultz. Plus, I’m not sure if the tag is numbered. The reverse side of the tag isn’t pictured. (EDIT: This is indeed one of the ten – it’s #8! Everything looks great! To break everything down: $12 for Mark Schultz autograph AND a limited edition Xenozoic product. JACKPOT!)

If you aren’t familiar with Xenozoic Tales or its successor, Cadillacs & Dinosaurs, I’ve included the Wikipedia entry for the franchise below.

As always, I am….Wally (AKA Paint Monk)

About Mark Schultz and Xenozoic Tales
(From Wikipedia, with links intact)

 
Xenozoic Tales (aka. Cadillacs and Dinosaurs) is an alternative comic book by Mark Schultz set in a post-apocalyptic future.[1]Originally published by Kitchen Sink Press, the series began in 1986 with the story “Xenozoic!” which was included in horror comics anthology Death Rattle #8. 
 
This was shortly followed by Xenozoic Tales #1 in February 1987. Kitchen Sink published 14 issues between 1987 and 1996 and it has since been reprinted by several publishers, including Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and Flesk Publications.
The series was well received and in the early 90s it won four Harvey Awards[2] and three Eisner Awards.[3] Despite this however issues started to be released further apart, eventually ceasing mid story arc in issue 14.
Xenozoic Tales also proved moderately successful under the title Cadillacs and Dinosaurs and spawned an animated series on CBS,[4] an arcade game from Capcom, a Sega CD video game from Rocket Science Games,[4] action figures, candy bars, and a Twilight 2000 system role-playing game.[4]
The comic book reprints from Kitchen Sink and Marvel, and the continuation from Topps Comics, also used the Cadillacs and Dinosaurs name. The title “Cadillacs and Dinosaurs” and the likenesses of classic Cadillac automobiles were used with the consent of General Motors, who holds the phrase “Cadillacs and Dinosaurs” as a trademark and has licensed it for the comic, the videogame and the animated series.[5
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